KALAMAZOO, Mich. - For the third consecutive season, the Western Michigan cross country team will host the George Dales Invite. This year's event will take place Friday morning at the Prairies Golf Club, with the women's college 6K beginning at 10 am. The men's Jack Shaw 8K will take off at 10:40 am, with high school girls and high school boys races going off at 11:20 am and 12 pm, respectively.
LAST TIME OUT
The Broncos started their 2026 season off with a strong showing, taking second place two weeks ago at the Jeff Drenth Memorial, hosted by Central Michigan.
Kaelin Hughes paced the Brown and Gold in the 5K race, finishing fourth with a time of 18:11.4. Right behind Hughes were
Madison Zarembski (18:16.9) and
Rebekah Asselin (18:24.7), who finished fifth and sixth, respectively.
Larissa McGrath was next for Western Michigan, placing 12th with a time of 18:41.3. Rounding out the scoring lineup was
Madison Clor, who crossed the line in 19:16.5 to finish 23rd.
LAST YEAR'S EVENT
Western Michigan placed second in last year's George Dales Invite, with
Lily Overton crossing the line first for the Brown and Gold with a time of 21:22.7 to claim ninth place.
Kaelin Hughes finished 20th with a time of 22:10.0. Also placing in the top-25 for the Broncos were
Larissa McGrath (23rd, 22:13.5) and
Ava Kurczewski (24th, 22:19.9). Back in the 2024 edition of the event,
Madison Clor clocked a 6K PR of 22:28.7 to finish 38th.
PROGRAM ON THE RISE
The Broncos entered the 2026 season with high expectations, opening the year ranked ninth in the Great Lakes Region, the highest preseason ranking in program history. Western Michigan was picked third in the MAC Preseason poll, garnering a first-place vote on the way to earning 87 points. The Brown and Gold backed up their preseason ranking in the season-opening Jeff Drenth Memorial, taking second place as a team.
WHO'S COMPETING? (Denotes 6K PR)
Rebekah Asselin (22:34.2)
Madison Clor (22:28.7)
Shannon Gillahan (23:31.4)
Kaelin Hughes (21:30.4)
Ava Kurczewski (21:51.4)
Larissa McGrath (22:05.1)
Lily Overton (20:51.9)
Madison Zarembski (21:43.2)
Lillian Zelasko (20:06.7)
